ISLAM: started by Muhammad claiming an angel gave him a message.
MORMONISM: started by Joseph Smith claiming an angel gave him a message.
BIBLE TRUTH: "even if an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him" (Gal. 1:8)!
“The Coming Man of Sin..” (In the Bible), who could he be?
I'm not looking to find him, but Q: Will Biblical Discernment kind of be needed in the near future? Uhh, yes. This is really needed even now.
Many want no end to playing pin-the-tail on the Antichrist, but not me. They study, study, study Biblical prophecy and it ends there with nose in the books. I like to study this too, but I won't be pinning a name on him (at least not yet), or ever set a date for the return of Christ (the Lord being my helper cuz that is stupid).
I don't need any conversations with the devil like some so-called Christians do. I need zero focus on him. You don't either. Many want to keep intensively learn Bible Prophecy as an end in itself. Not me. I say we study the word to be prepared and equipped in Jesus to go win more people to Christ while we still have time. I want to be busy seeking His truth and looking for Jesus Christ, rather than being overoccupied or distracted by the anti-Christ. Let's all study yet not worried about the Anti-Christ.
The Bible describes the Antichrist as a future leader who will arise from the revived Roman Empire and play a central role in end-time events (Daniel 7:7-8; Revelation 13:1-8). He will initially make peace with Israel and oversee the rebuilding of the Jewish temple but will later reveal himself as a deceiver and a despot (Daniel 8:23, 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). Some speculate the Antichrist could be the Twelfth Imam in Islam and be hailed by Muslims as their awaited leader. However, the Antichrist’s positive relationship with Israel makes it unlikely that he will be a Muslim, given historical tensions."The Mahdi will be a Messianic figure. He will be a descendant of Muhammad. It will be an unparalleled, unequal leader. He will come out of a crisis of turmoil. He will take control of the world. He will establish a new world order. He will destroy all who resist him. He will invade many nations. He will make a seven year peace treaty with the Jews. He will conquer Israel and massacre the Jews. He will establish Islamic world headquarters at Jerusalem. He will rule for seven years. Establish Islam as the only religion he will come on. A white horse with Supernatural power. He will be loved by all (the world) people on Earth. It does sounds familiar. That is a precise description of the biblical Antichrist. We know that the writer on the White Horse in Revelation 6 is the Antichrist. They use that verse. To describe their Mahdi, you go into any kind of a study of that, and you will find that all the details match up perfectly. The the Bible's Antichrist is Islam's Savior." ~ John MacArthur
If you check in Islamic eschatology, their Mahdi, is also called the Twelfth Imam meaning “the Guided One.” (Guided really by demons). He is presented as the long-awaited savior of the world. He is not merely some reformer or spiritual leader. He is portrayed as the conquering ruler who establishes the final caliphate and demands the full submission of the nations. The choice set before humanity, according to their own texts of violence, is very stark. You will submit, or be enslaved and destroyed. What they call a Holy War is what accompanies his coming, and the unbelieving world is subdued by force.
The Mahdi does not arrive all alone. He comes with his army, vast and militant, moving from nation to nation to punish all unbelievers. Islamic writings describe this army as carrying black flags. Have you seen those in the Middle East before? Upon those flags is a single word: punishment. It is not incidental symbolism. It is central to the vision.
It is worth noting, without any exaggeration or alarmism, that modern Iran has publicly employed black flags as part of its military symbolism, explicitly tying them to readiness for their Mahdi’s arrival. In Islamic tradition, this army first marches toward Israel who they hate. Of course he does! The literature speaks plainly of this. The Jews are then slaughtered (Satan and his thugs have always hated the Jews), and the Mahdi establishes his rule in Jerusalem, specifically on the Temple Mount. From there, he governs the whole world.
Their texts further claim that the Mahdi will bring rain, wind, agricultural abundance, wealth, and prosperity. Under his rule, the earth flourishes. Happiness becomes universal. He is adored. Conversation itself narrows, so that no one speaks of anyone but him (Satan has longed for the adoration and worship that only God deserves).
According to these writings, the Mahdi initially makes a seven-year peace agreement with the Jews and the West. His reign itself lasts seven years, during which Islam is established across the earth. Remarkably, Islamic texts describe him as arriving on a white horse. Some even explicitly reference Revelation 6:1–2 when doing so. Saddam Hussein famously commissioned murals across Baghdad depicting the Mahdi on a white horse, sword raised, advancing to destroy the infidels.
When the Mahdi appears, he is said to uncover hidden scriptures near the Sea of Galilee. These include secret gospels and a concealed Torah. These texts, supposedly the true scriptures, are used to prove that Jews and Christians were wrong, and that the Bible as we have it is false.
Again, to summarize their portrait, their Mahdi is a messianic type of figure, a so called descendant of Muhammad, and an unparalleled leader. He emerges from great global crisis and turmoil. He seizes control of the world by force. He establishes a new world order on earth. He will destroys all those who resist him. He will invade many nations. He will broker a seven-year peace treaty with Israel (a lie, he'll break his promise). He later conquers Israel and massacres the Jews. He rules from Jerusalem. He reigns on earth for seven years. He enforces Islam as the sole religion of the whole world. He arrives on a white horse with supernatural power. He is loved by the worldly people.
If this sounds familiar, it should. It is, point by point, the biblical description of the real Antichrist who is to come.
Scripture tells us that the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6 is not Christ, but a deceiver who imitates Him.
The crown is given, not earned or deserved. The conquest is bloodless at first. This figure corresponds precisely with the Mahdi as described in Islamic eschatology. The beast of Revelation 13 and the Mahdi are mirror images. When one studies the details carefully, the parallels are unmistakable.
What Scripture calls the Antichrist, Islam presents as its savior and world conqueror, the one who establishes a universal Islamic kingdom. Yet there is a second figure in this system, and that figure is Jesus.
The Mahdi is absolutely not the real Jesus Christ, and in Islamic theology, he is greater than Jesus. This distinction matters. If someone greater than Jesus appears, then Christianity must be all wrong. Islam therefore does affirms the return of Jesus, but not the Jesus of the Bible.
The Jesus who returns in Islamic teaching is not God at all. He did not die. He wasn't killed on a cross. He did not rise -- no physical resurrection. He did not atone for any sin. He returns only as a so-called prophet and servant. His sole purpose (to Muslims) is to assist and affirm the Mahdi.
Islamic tradition teaches that Jesus returns as a radical Muslim. He descends near Damascus, arriving at a minaret, supported by two angels. He joins the army of black flags. He prays behind the Mahdi, acknowledging him as his lord. He makes a pilgrimage to Mecca, and then He worships Allah. It's all wrong. Satan has been a counterfeiter.
Through this figure, Christians are told that they were wrong. The real gospel is wrong (when in reality it is completely right). The New Testament is wrong (though it is all true). Jesus did not die (when he really did). He did not rise (though there were over 500 eyewitnesses). He is not God (though he is the second person of the Godhead). He is not the Son of God (but he always will be the Father's sinless Son).
Their returning Jesus becomes the greatest Muslim evangelist in all of history, enforcing their Sharia law worldwide and standing as the final witness against all non-Muslims on the Day of Judgment.
Islamic texts state that he will shatter all crosses, a symbolic destruction of Christianity itself. He will kill pigs. They still hate bacon! He will abolish the tax on non-Muslims, because there will be no non-Muslims left to tax. Finally, he will kill the Islamic Antichrist, the figure they call Dajjal.
Only after destroying Christianity by revealing who he “really is” does this Jesus die, to be buried by (false prophet) Muhammad.
When this figure is compared to Scripture, the alignment is again striking. Revelation chapters 13, 16, 19, and 20 describe the false prophet, the beast who comes out of the earth, who aids and enforces the rule of the Antichrist. As the Mahdi parallels the Antichrist, so the Islamic Jesus parallels the false prophet.
One Islamic writing states that this Jesus espouses the cause of the Mahdi, acts as his enforcer, his executioner, his prophet, and ultimately kills the Antichrist. Yet here is the final reversal. The Islamic Antichrist, Dajjal, is said to claim that he is Jesus, the Son of God. He claims deity. He performs false miracles. He is opposed by the Mahdi and the Islamic Jesus, who together destroy him.
Do not miss the inversion. Our Jesus is their Antichrist. Their redeemer is our Antichrist. It is a complete satanic counterfeit, precisely what Scripture warns us to expect.
Jesus Himself said, “For false christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). Paul wrote that the coming of the lawless one is “by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9).
The true Jesus will destroy the Antichrist and the false prophet and establish His kingdom forever, as Revelation 19 makes clear. Satan’s counterfeit always imitates before it opposes.
Ezekiel 38 presents Gog as the leader of a coalition of nations aligned against Israel. The nations listed are overwhelmingly Muslim and encircle the Mediterranean, reaching as far as Libya. Revelation 17:9–11 speaks of a succession of kingdoms, six fallen, a seventh, and then an eighth. Many scholars have noted that the Ottoman Empire, the last caliphate, ruled for five centuries and officially ended in 1923. Islamic expectation still looks for its restoration when the Mahdi comes.
At the end, someone will say, “I am Jesus.” Someone else will say the same. Jesus warned us plainly, “See that no one leads you astray” (Matthew 24:4). Deception will not be crude. It will be religious. It will be persuasive. It will be global.
There are millions today who sincerely believe in a Jesus who is not the Jesus of Scripture. One cannot affirm that as faithfulness. Any Jesus other than the Jesus who is God incarnate, crucified, risen, and reigning is not Jesus at all. Paul was unambiguous. “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:9).
Jesus said that nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom (Matthew 24:7). This has marked all of human history. Nearly ninety-five percent of societies have engaged in war. As technology increases, so does the capacity to kill. Humanity does not evolve upward. Scripture foresaw a moral, social, and spiritual descent.
C. S. Lewis observed that fallen humanity does not merely fail to obey truth, but resents it when confronted by it. Scripture agrees. “Evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13).
The issue, then, is not curiosity or comparison. It is truth. Jesus of Nazareth is not one voice among many. He is the only “way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6. Jesus is still the only way the Father has provided for sinners to enter His holy heaven). At the end of the age, clarity will matter more than ever. The good news, Jesus Christ Himself has already told us how the story ends. He wins, and we believers win.
- Daniel 7—8 speaks of four world empires. The final one, ruling in the last days, will be the revived Roman Empire. Daniel says the leader of this last empire will be "a master of intrigue," and "he will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior" (Daniel 8:23, 25 NIV). This man appears to be synonymous with the Antichrist in Revelation. If so, there are a couple of arguments against the Antichrist being the Twelfth Imam, or even being a Muslim.
- The first argument is geographical. If the Antichrist emerges from the revived Roman Empire, then he most likely will be found within the nations of the old Roman Empire (Daniel 7:23-24; see Revelation 13:1-2). These lands include major portions of Europe as well as North Africa, yet Europeans rather than Arabs have traditionally led the Roman Empire.
- Daniel prophesies a positive relationship between the Antichrist and Israel, at least initially. The Antichrist confirms a peace agreement with Israel for seven years (Daniel 9:27), and the Jewish temple will be rebuilt. Due to the traditional hostility between Muslims and Jews, it is unlikely that a Muslim would be in this position.
- Shi'itic Islam believes in the prophecy concerning the return of the Twelfth Imam, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad (aka, Muhammad al Mahdi; born 868 AD) just before the Day of Judgment. The Bible also speaks of a future leader who will come shortly before the Day of Judgment. He is called "the beast" in Revelation 13:4. This ruler will promise peace with Israel for seven years, but he will break the treaty in the middle of the seven-year period. He will then declare himself God and rule as a despot during a time of judgment before Christ's second coming. Based on these prophecies, some believe that, when the beast, or the Antichrist, comes, he will be hailed by the Muslim world as the Twelfth Imam.
- Jesus speaks of many “false christs and false prophets [who] will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:23-25). He doesn’t specify which group these will come from.
- Rather than trying to figure out who the antichrist is, believers are called to keep our focus on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).
No one really knows for certain who the future Antichrist will turn out to be. He could very well be an Arab or a man of mixed Muslim and Jewish descent. He will be hailed by all the world as the man who finally brought peace to the Middle East.
Until we see the fulfillment of these things, we must heed the words of 1 John 4:1-4 to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God." Jesus noted that many “false christs and false prophets” would arise (Matthew 24:23-25); He didn’t indicate one specific person.
The Apostle Paul explains how Satan wants to shake the saints and make them lose their confidence, and one of his chief weapons is deception. Someone claimed to have a letter from Paul saying that the day of the Lord was present, and others said they had messages through the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:21). The believers forgot what Paul had taught them (v. 5), so they were trapped by the lies of the enemy.
The “times and seasons” of God’s prophetic plan are in God’s hands (Acts 1:6–8), and He has everything in control. A sequence of events is sketched here to assure us that the church is destined for salvation and not judgment (v. 13; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9). The Spirit of God in this world is keeping God’s program on schedule.
Beware “prophets” who contradict what God has already said in His Word (v. 15). If you stand on the Word, you will not fall for the devil’s lies. God’s people can face the future with assurance, hope, and comfort because of the unfailing grace of God (vv. 13–17).
The Bible says (in 2 Thes. 2:1-12), "Now we request you, abrethren, with regard to the 1bcoming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our cgathering together to Him,
2 that you not be quickly shaken from your 1composure or be disturbed either by a aspirit or a 2bmessage or a cletter as if from us, to the effect that dthe day of the Lord ehas come.
3 aLet no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the 1bapostasy comes first, and the cman of lawlessness is revealed, the dson of destruction,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above 1aevery so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, bdisplaying himself as being God.
5 Do you not remember that awhile I was still with you, I was telling you these things?
6 And you know awhat restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.
7 For athe mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only bhe who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.
8 Then that lawless one awill be revealed whom the Lord will slay bwith the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the cappearance of His 1coming;
9 that is, the one whose 1coming is in accord with the activity of aSatan, with all power and 2bsigns and false wonders,
10 and with 1all the deception of wickedness for athose who perish, because they did not receive the love of bthe truth so as to be saved.
11 For this reason aGod 1will send upon them 2a bdeluding influence so that they will believe 3what is false,
12 in order that they all may be 1judged who adid not believe the truth, but 2btook pleasure in wickedness." 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12
Paul's clearly gives the explanation about the Day of the Lord and the Man of Sin. Warren Wiersbe tells us all about this. The Christians were “shaken” instead of established (1 Thes. 3:2, 13) because they had been told (falsely) that the Day of the Lord was already upon them. “At hand” in v. 2 should be “already present.” Paul explains that certain events must take place before this day of wrath and judgment can come to the world. I. There'll be an Apostasy, a falling away from the Lord. It Must Take Place (2:1–3) That word “apostasy” actually means “a falling away.” In the Bible it refers to a falling away from the truth of the Word of God. While there were certainly false teachers in Paul’s day, the church at large was united on the truths of the Word of God. If you met another Christian, you knew he believed in the Word of God, the deity of Christ, and the salvation by faith in Christ. This is certainly not true today! We live in a day of “Christian unbelief “; people say they are Christians, yet deny the deity of Christ, the inspiration of the Bible, and so on. This apostasy, or falling away from the truth, is promised in 1 Tim. 4 and 2 Tim. 3. We are living in apostate days right now, which indicates that the coming of the Lord is near. The professing church (Christendom) has departed from the faith. II. There'll be a Temple. It Must Be Rebuilt (2:4–5) Paul promises the rise of a world dictator, the “man of sin.. son of perdition” (v. 3). He is not talking about a world system, but a person who will head up a world system. This “man of sin” contrasts with Christ, the Savior from sin. He is the son of perdition; Christ is the Son of God. He is the liar; Christ is the Truth. We commonly call this man “the Antichrist,” which means both “against Christ” as well as “instead of Christ.” This world ruler will be energized by the devil and will unite the nations of Europe in a great federation (the ten horns of Daniel’s image, Dan. 7). According to Rev. 17, the Antichrist will cooperate with the apostate world church in his rise to power, and then will destroy this religious system when he doesn’t need it anymore. The program is as follows: (1) the church will be raptured; (2) the Antichrist will begin his rise to power in a peaceful way; (3) he will unite Europe and make a seven-year covenant with Israel to protect it (see Dan. 9); (4) after three and one-half years he will break that covenant and invade Israel; (5) he will abolish all religion and set himself up to be worshiped (Rev. 13); (6) at the end of the seven-year tribulation period (Day of the Lord), Christ will return to earth and destroy the Antichrist and his system. Both the OT and NT predict the return of the Jews to Palestine and the rebuilding of the Jewish temple. When the Antichrist sets himself up in the temple, this will mark the “abomination of desolation” of Dan. 11:31 and Matt. 24:15. III. There'll be a Removal of the Spirit. The Restrainer Must Be Removed (2:6–12) Satan’s mystery of iniquity is already working in the world, and we can see its godless activities increasing rapidly. What, then, holds p 612 back Satan’s evil program and the rise of the Antichrist? God has a “restrainer” in the world, which we believe is the Holy Spirit working in and through the church. God has “times and seasons” marked out (1 Thes. 5:1), and even Satan cannot get God off schedule. The One who hinders in v. 7 is the Spirit, and He will continue to hinder Satan’s activities until He is taken “out of the midst” when the church is raptured. Of course, the Spirit will still work on earth, since people will believe and be saved after the rapture; but His hindering ministry through the body of Christ will end. This will give Satan free course to fill the cup of iniquity to the full.
Satan will work through the Antichrist in miraculous powers (vv. 9–10), just as the magicians in Egypt imitated Moses’ miracles. He will imitate Christ’s powers (see Acts 2:22) and get the world to accept and worship him. Men would rather believe a lie than the truth! Of course, true believers who are saved after the rapture will not be deceived; it is the lost who will be deluded and ultimately end up in hell. They will believe the lie, which is worshiping and serving the creature instead of the Creator (Rom. 1:25). IV. There'll be an Adding To. His Church Must Be Completed (2:13–17) The Day of the Lord applies to the Gentile nations and the Jews, but not to the church. It is a day of wrath, and the church is not destined for wrath (1 Thes. 1:10; 5:9). The purpose of the Tribulation is the punishment of the Gentiles and the purification of the Jewish nation, which by this time has returned to its own land in unbelief. But Antichrist cannot begin his rise to power until Christ has taken the church from the earth.
Who Actually Is the Antichrist?
The Final Rebel is all about arrogant rebellion, and this antichrist spirit has already been at work in our world.
Scripture leaves no room for speculation untethered from revelation. The Antichrist is not a myth, a metaphor, or a vague force of evil. He is a real individual—yet also the final expression of a rebellion that has echoed through human history since Eden.
The apostle Paul names him plainly: “the man of lawlessness.. the son of destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2:3). This figure is no ordinary tyrant. He opposes God Himself, exalts himself above every object of worship, and seats himself in the very temple of God, displaying himself as God (2 Thess. 2:4). His rise is satanic; his reign is deceptive; his end is certain. “The Lord will slay him with the breath of His mouth and bring him to nothing by the appearance of His coming” (2 Thess. 2:8).
One Man — Many Precursors
John helps us understand the pattern. “You have heard that Antichrist is coming,” he writes, “even now many antichrists have appeared” (1 John 2:18). The final Antichrist does not emerge in a vacuum. He is the culmination of all who deny Christ—false messiahs, counterfeit teachers, religious deceivers, and self-appointed saviors who reject the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22).
This is not merely future tense theology (there have been several antichrists before the last days one). “The spirit of the antichrist.. is already in the world” (1 John 4:3). Wherever Christ is denied, minimized, redefined, or replaced, that spirit is active. The Antichrist will be its fullest incarnation—all rebellion rolled into one man.
As A.W. Tozer once warned, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” The Antichrist will corrupt that very thought, offering himself in God’s place.
A Long War Against God
From Genesis onward, Satan has sought to undo God’s redemptive plan. In Eden, he tempted humanity into the fall. In Noah’s day, corruption filled the earth until judgment came by flood. In Egypt, male Hebrew infants were slaughtered to destroy the messianic line. In Judah, the royal lineage of David was nearly extinguished—reduced at one point to a single surviving child (2 Chronicles 21–22).
In Persia, the Jews were nearly annihilated—saved only because a pagan king could not sleep (Esther 6). Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the temple, outlawed circumcision, and slaughtered thousands, foreshadowing the final tyrant. Herod murdered infants in Bethlehem, hoping to kill Christ. Satan tempted Jesus directly, urged Him away from the cross through Peter, and thought the tomb would silence Him forever. Yet every attempt failed.
As the hymn declares:
“The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure.”
(Song: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God)
A Modern Shadow: Why History Matters
History provides shadows—never equals, but warnings. Adolf Hitler stands as one of the clearest modern parallels. His global ambition, obsessive hatred of the Jews, and documented immersion in occult ideology reveal what happens when a man yields himself fully to demonic influence. Even secular historians have noted his mysticism, altered voice, and episodes of terror and possession.
Hitler was not the Antichrist—but he shows us what such a man can look like: charismatic, lawless, intoxicated with power, and willing to unleash hell on earth. As theologian R.C. Sproul observed, “When man refuses to worship God, he will not worship nothing—he will worship anything.”
The final Antichrist will be worse—far worse.
What's The Biblical Profile?
Daniel gives us the clearest composite portrait. The Antichrist begins small—a “little horn”—then rises to global dominance (Daniel 7:8). He is intelligent, articulate, arrogant, and blasphemous. He persecutes God’s people, reshapes law and worship, and demands allegiance to himself (Daniel 7:21–25).
He rules the world for a brief but terrifying window—“a time, times, and half a time”—three and a half years of unprecedented oppression (Daniel 7:25). Jesus called it “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21). But it ends abruptly. Heaven convenes court. Dominion is stripped away. Christ returns.
“The kingdom and the dominion.. shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High” (Daniel 7:27).
Is the Antichrist a Muslim?
Scripture does not identify the Antichrist by ethnicity or religion but by theology. He denies the Father and the Son. He exalts himself as God. He demands worship. Any system—religious or secular—that rejects the biblical Christ participates in the spirit of antichrist. The final man will transcend current categories, uniting deception, power, and blasphemy in a way the world has never seen.
Why This Matters Now
Barna research consistently shows that fewer than half of professing Christians hold a biblical worldview, and many deny core doctrines about Christ’s nature and authority. Deception is not coming—it is already here.
Yet Scripture does not call believers to fear, but to discernment, faithfulness, and hope.
As Billy Graham said, “I’ve read the last page of the Bible. It all turns out all right.”
The Antichrist will rise. He will deceive many. He will rage briefly. And then—he will fall.
Christ will reign.
And the kingdom of this world will become “the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).
The Antichrist, the Day of the Lord, and the Comfort of the Church
Daniel’s vision grows darker—and clearer—in chapter 8. Here the coming Antichrist is no vague symbol but a terrifyingly real man. Daniel describes him as “insolent” and “fierce of face” (Daniel 8:23), a ruler whose very presence intimidates. He does not merely conquer by armies; he subdues through fear, manipulation, and deception. “He will be skilled in intrigue” (Daniel 8:25)—a master strategist, a political genius, a spiritual fraud.
Yet Scripture pulls back the curtain further. His power is not his own. “His power will be mighty, but not by his own power” (Daniel 8:24). Satan himself energizes this man, just as Paul later explains that the lawless one comes “in accordance with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9). Pride defines him: “He will magnify himself in his heart” (Daniel 8:25). Violence marks his reign—not merely in wartime, but against unsuspecting people living at ease. He destroys simply to destroy.
Most horrifying of all, “he will oppose the Prince of princes” (Daniel 8:25). This is no mere political rebellion; it is cosmic blasphemy. And yet Daniel ends with hope: “He will be broken without human agency.” God Himself will end him—fulfilled when Christ returns and destroys him “with the breath of His mouth” (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
The Covenant, the Betrayal, and the Abomination
Daniel 9 reveals how this deception unfolds. At the outset of the final seven years, Israel enters a covenant with this ruler—a pact promising security and peace (Daniel 9:27). He appears as protector, peacemaker, savior. For the first half, the world applauds. This is the age-old lie: “Peace and safety” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
But halfway through, the mask falls. He desecrates the temple in what Jesus called “the abomination of desolation” (Matthew 24:15). He turns violently against Israel and against all who belong to Christ, launching what Scripture calls the great tribulation. What begins in diplomacy ends in bloodshed.
Daniel 11 completes the portrait. This king “will do as he pleases” (Daniel 11:36)—utterly unrestrained. He magnifies himself above every god, speaks monstrous blasphemies, and shows no regard for the faith of his fathers. He abandons his ancestral religion altogether, for his religion becomes self-worship. Even his personal desires are subordinated to power. Whatever Daniel means by saying he shows “no regard for the desire of women” (Daniel 11:37), the point is clear: nothing human restrains him.
Yet his end is certain. “He will come to his end, and no one will help him” (Daniel 11:45). The King of kings will personally intervene.
Why Paul Taught This: Fear, Confusion, and Comfort
Why does Paul rehearse all this for the Thessalonians?
Because fear had seized them.
They had been taught—clearly—that Christ would come first to gather His church. “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven.. and we shall be caught up together with them… to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). Paul’s command was unmistakable: “Comfort one another with these words.”
Then comes chapter 5: the day of the Lord—a day not of comfort, but of catastrophic judgment. It comes “like a thief in the night”, bringing sudden destruction upon a world lulled by false peace (1 Thessalonians 5:2–3). But Paul reassured believers: “You are not in darkness.. you are sons of light” (1 Thessalonians 5:4–5).
Yet somewhere between those teachings, confusion still entered their ranks.
By the time Paul writes 2 Thessalonians, the church is panicked. They believe the day of the Lord has already begun. Why? Paul lists three sources of deception: a supposed spiritual revelation, a persuasive sermon, and worst of all, a forged letter claiming apostolic authority (2 Thessalonians 2:2). Their minds were shaken—unmoored—like a ship in a storm. Fear replaced hope.
And that fear proves something crucial: they expected to be raptured before the day of the Lord, not after it. If they believed in a post-tribulation rapture, the day of the Lord would have meant deliverance was near. Instead, they were terrified—because they believed they had missed the rapture and were now facing divine wrath. Paul writes to steady them.
The Anchor of Truth
His reassurance is simple and decisive: “That day will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed” (2 Thessalonians 2:3). You have not seen him. Therefore, you are not in the day of the Lord.
Then Paul lifts their eyes higher—not to timelines, but to grace. “God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation… that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:13–14). Chosen not for wrath, but for glory. Not for judgment, but for comfort.
So he exhorts them: “Stand firm.” Hold fast to apostolic truth. Reject counterfeit revelations. Rest in the promises of Christ.
And he closes with one of the most tender benedictions in Scripture:
“Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself… has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace” (2 Thessalonians 2:16).
The Church’s Posture: Hope, Not Horror
The church is not waiting for the Antichrist—we are waiting for Christ. “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
The day of the Lord is real. Its horrors are unimaginable. Revelation 6–19 makes that plain. But that day is not our destiny. Our hope is deliverance, not devastation.
As Chuck Smith once said, “The tribulation is God’s judgment on a Christ-rejecting world—not His punishment of a Christ-redeemed church.”
So Paul comforts the trembling believers then—and us now—with the same truth:
You are not appointed to wrath.
You are appointed to glory in this relationship.
And Christ will not forget to come for His own.
“Therefore comfort one another with these words” of truth in the Scriptures
